On immigration, Eric Cantor can’t win

RICHMOND, Va. — Eric Cantor is simultaneously blocking immigration reform and plotting a way to grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants – it just depends on whom you ask.

For liberal activists, Cantor is the sole man who stands in the way of a sweeping immigration overhaul making its way into law. But to his primary challenger, the House majority leader has been insufficiently conservative on immigration — and he needs to be voted out of office for it.

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Those dueling dynamics were on full display here in Cantor’s home turf Wednesday, as immigrant-rights advocates — led by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) — led a rally at the state Capitol in Richmond aimed at pressuring the second-ranking House Republican to move on immigration reform this year.

“What Eric Cantor represents is the future of the Republican Party, and if you do not give a vote on comprehensive immigration reform, let me assure you of the consequence: The Republican Party will be a party of regions, of localities,” Gutierrez told the crowd. “The Republican Party no longer is the dominant party in the state of Virginia, and that is because of the growing power and the growing influence of the immigrant and Latino communities.”

More than 70 people gathered at the mid-afternoon rally, waving yellow signs that read: “Eric Cantor: The One Man Blocking Immigration Reform” and wearing stickers that pleaded: “Eric Cantor Give Us A Vote.” A handful of activists hailing from Cantor’s district revealed they were facing deportation orders and tearfully urged for action to stop the removals. Posters promoted the hashtag “#HearUsCantor,” and the event was sporadically peppered with chants of “Give us a vote!” and “Si se puede!”

That was a sharp contrast to the scene just outside the state Capitol shortly before the rally. Amid the pillars of the statehouse, Dave Brat – Cantor’s challenger in the June 10 primary – stood before a gaggle of reporters, insisting that the majority leader was heading up the “amnesty drive” in the Republican-led House and he was “working in cahoots” with Gutierrez to push immigration measures through the chamber.

Cantor, the second-ranking House Republican who holds the keys to the chamber’s floor schedule, has increasingly been hit from both the left and right for what his critics see as a shifting stance on immigration – though his camp says the lawmaker has stayed consistent on the issue.

Much of the attacks come from a primary challenge by Brat, an economics professor who has seized on a number of issues to accuse the Republican leader of not being conservative enough. Brat, who opposes legalization and wants to cut future legal immigration, has become a hero of sorts for the loud group of reform opponents who not only see the tea party activist as a way to oust Cantor, but to send a message that Congress should avoid taking up an immigration overhaul.

But at the same time. immigration advocates have zeroed in on Cantor as they make their final push for immigration reform this year. Though activists have long targeted Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the House’s top Republican, they want Cantor to use his position in leadership to steer the chamber toward reform.

Wednesday’s rally, organized by CASA de Virginia, an immigrant- and civil-rights group in the state, came just days after Cantor’s campaign blanketed voters in the district with a mailer that proclaimed his tough stance on “illegal aliens” — a phrase used only by the most ardent of immigration hardliners in Congress.

The tough stance Cantor takes toward illegal immigration in the mailer is “absolutely” consistent with his broader views on the issue, Allen said. Though Brat accuses Cantor of supporting broader amnesty for undocumented immigrants, Allen said that is “clearly not Congressman Cantor’s position.”

Still, he noted Cantor’s support for smaller-scale measures — such as a path to legal status for immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children. As for Brat’s attacks, Allen said it was proof that his campaign was becoming more “desperate” and that Brat was becoming “more shrill and more silly.”

“We are not for the Senate bill and we are not for that kind of blanket amnesty, but at some point in the future, we should be able to find some common ground,” Allen said. He later added: “Seventh District voters are just much smarter than Dave Brat gives them credit for.”